First Enchanter's Choice
by Pintsizedpsycho
Summary: Orsino has a choice to make about his childhood friend. As he comes to his decision he remembers what drove his friend insane and put him on his murderous path.


Orsino looks at the fire as the last off the notes and letters from his old friend burn, he sighs heavily as he leans back in his chair whether the sigh is from relief or sadness he doesn't know. The research was dangerous but if it was tweaked the right way it could further their medical knowledge by a hundred years if not more. The sedatives, the surgical cuts he created, the advance knowledge of the human anatomy you can't find anywhere outside the imperium. Maker it could have helped so many if only the research wasn't soaked in the blood of the innocent. Orsino sits back and closes his eyes as he remembers his distant childhood and the two people who made his life just a little less miserable, Quentin and his future wife Sarah.

He, Quentin and Sarah had been brought to the Circle at Starkhaven around the same time and become friends quickly, well as chose to friends as mages were allowed to get in the Circle. First rule of the circle they learned was mages do not have friends. The second Mages do not find love. Third do what the templars say. Orsino smiles as he remembers how they had broken all three rules more times than he can count. The smile fades from his face as he remembers what breaking those rules had cost them.

He smiles returns to his face as he remembers their life in Starkhaven. Even with all the pain and fear there came with being a mage in the circle they still had joy. Such as they day Sarah and Quentin were given permission to wed. The tower had been abuzz with the news and for the first time in years everyone was happy. Well everyone except most of the Libertarians. They hated Sarah and Quentin for being Loyalists. Actually they hated all loyalists because they always got special treatment. They were allowed to leave the tower, they were the only ones ever allowed to marry. Some were even allowed to say good-bye to their children before they were taken away. He chuckles as remembers the arguments the three of them used to get into over their fraternities.

The wedding ceremony had been beautiful thought they weren't allowed to have a party or anything it. But was still beautiful and it gave the mages hope that one day they could finally be able to do what mundane took for granted. Be allowed to see the sky with their own eyes and not through barred window, get married without having to earn the right or even be allowed to raise their own children, even something as simple as cooking a meal for themselves or making a cup of tea.

He sighs sadly as he focuses on the burning paper once more and thinks about his childhood friend research, research that should have been used to save lives turning into something so evil. Quentin always valued life above all else, he refused to kill spiders for Maker's Sake. Now if he was reading those notes right his childhood friend wants to do something horrible to a lot of people. He wants to lie to himself and say he doesn't know what caused this change in his friend but he knows. The Templars. It had happened several years after their marriage and a few months before Orsino was transferred to Kirkwall a group of templars took a liking to Sarah and tried raping her only to be stopped by Quentin. His friend got sixty public lashes for attacking templars while Sarah got much worse for attempting to seduce a templar. They hadn't seen her for almost a month.

Orsino shudders as he remembers how they were all roused from their bed in the middle of the night and made to stand in the courtyard of the Circle and what they seen when they got there. Sarah was laying in the center of a group templar each holding mabari. She looked horrible. There wasn't an inch of skin that wasn't marked both of her legs were bent at unnatural angles with the bones sticking out and the left leg had become gangrene. Her right arm was missing just below the elbow and three fingers on her left hand were gone. The worse part came when Quentin screamed her name and tried to rush only to be tackled to the ground by five templars. They picked him up and made him look at her so he could see what they had done to her when she weakly lifted her head at his voice. One half of her face was burned beyond recognition and both her eyes were missing and when she tried screaming saying his name she couldn't because they had cut out her tongue.

He barely understood the Knight-Commander told them Sarah was being punished because she tried corrupting the righteous templar knights that guarded them and that under interrogation had admitted her guilt and the only suitable punishment for such an act was death. Then the templars around her released the mabari. He can still hear Quentin's screams as he watches the love of his life getting ripped apart and eaten by the mabari; he still has nightmares about that night. And ever since that night Quentin was never the same. When he had left Quentin was still little more than ghost gliding around the Circle in routine.

When he got the first letter from Quentin he thought his friend was finally starting to heal but now he sees that is not the case. He fights back the bile that tries to rise in his throat. How could Quentin be researching such evil? What good could come of it? Nothing that's what. He will never be able to bring Sarah back the woman he loved is dead and no patch work doll he creates will ever be her but his friend is now insane and beyond reason. As he looks back at the fire he almost regrets burning it, he could have taken it to Meredith...Orsino stops his thoughts mid-sentence. No he could never take this to Meredith; she would accuse him of being a blood mage and use that as an excuse to annul the circle. He will not see his people butchered for something they had no part in.

He leans forward and places his elbows on his desk and buries his face in his hands. He can't go to anyone one without endangering the entire circle but neither can leave Quentin out there to do whatever he is planning to do with this research, if he is planning anything with it at all. But who can he go to. He can't go to Meredith, she would kill every mage in the circle and Quentin would still be out there doing whatever he is going to do. For that same reason Cullen is out as well, he would run to Meredith with this information and be the first in line with his sword draw grinning from ear to ear eager to start the annulment. Thrask would be a good one to go to but he has lost much standing within the order for being a "mage-lover". Alirk and Karras are out because they are as bad as Cullen and Meredith. That leaves few templars of standing to go to. Emeric! He is a good templar, even with his advance age he still has his head on right and he has good standing within the templar order, he will not jump to the same conclusions about the circle mages as the rest would.

Orsino smiles to himself and allows a small sigh of relief to escape his mouth. Even though Emeric is a good man he can't have this traced back to him. So he can't just go to Emeric with this news he will have to find some way to get Emeric onto Quentin's trail without the templar realizing it. Orsino hears seven bells announcing the late hour before he stands from his chair stretching his back and groaning in satisfaction when his back pops in several places before he starts out of the room. As he walks down the hall he fight back a smile tomorrow he will figure out how to get Emeric on Quentin's trail but for now it is close to curfew and being the First-Enchanter will not protect from the punishment of being out of his cell past curfew. The tight scars on his back a constant reminder of the first and last time he made that mistake.

He ignores the templars watching him as he makes his way down the hall to his to small cell. His heart heavy and light at the same time. Tomorrow he will figure out a way to stop a dangerous blood mage. Tomorrow he will figure out a way to get his best and only true friend executed.


End file.
